Ocean City Police Prepare for College Weekend

People line the beach in Ocean City, Maryland. (Photo credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

OCEAN CITY, Md. — Ocean City officials are preparing for an influx of college students this weekend for a loosely organized event that’s been promoted on social media.

It’s known as College Takeover Beach Week. A similar event last year in Virginia Beach, Virginia, drew tens of thousands and was marred by violence, including three shootings.

Ocean City police spokeswoman Jessica Waters says there will be additional officers on patrol throughout the weekend, especially on the boardwalk. She says they’ve spoken to Virginia Beach police, who said they were short-staffed last year.

But Waters says police don’t expect much different from a normal weekend in June. She says it’s the busiest month of the year for the resort town, and the first weekend typically draws large numbers of college students and high school graduates.